Ki, it was an important lesson that I needed to learn. So far anyone I had come across that knew how to use Ki, completely overpowered me. Harry, the dark guild and Delbert. If I didn't know how to unlock my skills, then I needed to learn to use Ki.
The old man made me stand around a meter in length away from him. He then started to explain and demonstrate.
"Before we can start practising Ki you need to learn what Ki is and how we can use it. Ki is very similar to how mages use Mana. Mana is the force borrowed form the world. A mages mana pool determines how much of the world's energy it can control, in mages, their mana pool determines how big or how many spells they can cast. So if Mana is the force from outside, what do you think Ki is?"
"The Ki is the power from inside our bodies." We had learnt most of the basics from our time in school, most likely the old man was just testing my current knowledge.
"Good, then if a mage's mana pool determines how much force they can borrow from the world, what determines how much Ki we can use."
I didn't want to guess a wrong answer so I just stood there until he started speaking again.
"The strength of our bodies, the stronger your body is physically the more Ki you can hold inside. This is why it is taboo for children to practise Ki, their bodies simply can't handle it. Using too much internal force in a weak body will just explode."
The old man started to take his shirt off, in my surprise, the old man had the body of a Greek god, his chiselled muscles seemed to be carved from stone.
"I want you to hit me in the stomach as hard as you can."
"Are you sure?"
"Do you remember the dark guild member you fought, he too was using a type of ki which I shall demonstrate now."
I readied my hand into a fist, then stepping forward with all my power struck against his abs, the impact was like hitting a solid wall of metal. I barely managed to move the old man, only sliding him about an inch backwards.
The old man jumped towards me with Joy.
"Were you using Ki just now?"
"No, I just punched you as hard as I could."
The old man's smile got even bigger.
"Boy, you have the strength of an Ox. let's sit down for the next part."
The old man sat down first and I followed after.
Maybe I should have hidden my actual strength, I knew after absorbing the crystals my strength was greater than someone my age but at the same time, I wanted to see how strong my strike was against a Ki user.
"The Ki in our body is a flow of energy, that flow can be used on our own cells. Just now I used it to strengthen the cells in my body, making my body as hard as a rock. People who master the use of Ki are even able to slow down the process of ageing, reverse it even."
"If Ki is in our body, then how does sword Ki work?"
"The flow of energy can be extended to the extent of what we touch, almost as if it has become a part of our body. Everything in this world has a flow and we can use our Ki to disrupt it or strengthen it."
"Can mages also use Ki?"
"There is a reason why mages are so sought after by the kingdoms. Increasing one's mana pool can be done through the use of items, by using Magical beast crystals. The stronger the crystals are the more mana can be gathered inside of them. We knights are limited by the strength of our bodies, the only use we have for the crystals is to use them as weapons or armour.
To answer your question, No. Just like how we can't use the force of the world they can not use the force inside them. Perhaps this is the divine being's way of balancing the world out."
What he said triggered a thought in my mind, wasn't I able to use both. If I eventually unlocked my skills I would be using Magic which came from my mana pool. Although I didn't have any mana currently, with my new skill it would only be a matter of time. So I had to ask.
"Are there any exceptions to this."
"I'm starting to like you more and more, yes there is one that many people know quite well, the shadow plague. When the shadow infects a person or creature they are able to supply the creature or human with mana. This is what makes an infected creature or human stronger than usual. No one knows how the shadow is able to do this without bringing harm to the host's body."
The old man stood up and sat directly behind me. I could feel his warm hand touch my back.
"The best way to learn how to use Ki is to experience what Ki feels like. In a moment you're going to feel a warm sensation go through your body. Don't be frightened, the cells in your body will feel like they are on fire strengthening your body. I want you to remember this feeling."
Just as the old man had said, I could feel his hand start to get warmer. It felt like an invisible force was trying to enter my body.
Suddenly a notification sound rang in my head.
The energy flow changed, instead of it being pushed into my body it felt like the energy flow was being pulled from the old man.
"Old man are you okay?" I shouted in a worried voice.
The Old man was grunting, making strange noises as if he was in pain.
I jumped up off the ground and moved away from the old man, breaking contact from him. when I turned around to look at the old man he had collapsed on the floor. He wasn't moving.
Just when I was about to check if the old man was alive a familiar sound was heard.
(Author Message: I have a new story for a writing competition on web novel, if you like my work please check it out it's called Virtual Sword God! make sure you put the ! at the end. If you could check it out it would help.)